Russian media reported Rostelecom would be offering to buy back 30% of its shares from minority stakeholders. Sources close to the state-controlled telecommunications operator told Russian reporters the buyout would be worth USD 909 million. Rostelecom, however, has not yet commented on its planned buyout offer. Apparently, investors welcomed the reports as Rostelecom's Moscow-listed stock rose over 4% in early trading.

In recent months, Russian companies launched share buyouts. Reuters reported that some observers criticized such offers as favoring only a few shareholders. Share buybacks allowed these strategic investors to exit investments at favorable prices despite general industry-wide market dips.

In the case of Rostelecom, a share buyback would favor Marshall Capital Partners (MarCap). The Konstantin Malofeev-run fund is the largest minority stakeholder of Rostelecom. MarCap owns 10.7% of Rostelecom. Vedomosti, a Russian newspaper, reported that MarCap had already applied for the redemption. The paper also said the application would potentially lessen MarCap's stake to 7.4% of ordinary shares.